Crème Brûlée with the President?
by sfw3e
Summary: Ben discovers Andy's bucket list and, with Leslie's help, they they eliminate an item.


**Notes:** Thanks to Catherine and Riana for reading over this and giving me enough courage to post it. Comments and criticism would be lovely! (They also might goad me into writing more of these – I have loads of ideas!)

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><p>April and Andy weren't the neatest of roommates, but, over the last few months, Ben had managed to at least train the newlyweds to use a garbage can. The place was a mess, a little dopey, but it was home, and there was love, and Ben made sure to straighten the place at least once a week to prevent the otherwise inevitable downward spiral.<p>

It was one such cleaning occasion when Ben, rummaging through the pile of papers on the floor next to the sofa, found a set of four pieces of paper stapled together. Staple usage was a rarity in this home outside of Ben's bedroom, so these four sheets were distinctly out of place. Was it his handwriting? A lone document somehow misplaced in the black hole that was the living room paper stack? No, the scrawl was messier, more scratch-like, all caps, indicative of Andy's haphazard penmanship. While he tried not to pry – mostly as a defense mechanism against Andy's nosiness – he could not help what his eyes briefly focused upon.

RIDE A UNICYCLE

OUTRUN A HIPPO

INVENT SOMETHING

They went on down the page, interspersed with large scratched off areas, a handful of circled entries, and interjections by a neater, rounder handwriting belonging to April and as devoid of capital letters as its companion was full of them. It was a list. He flipped the papers to their appropriate order to read the title:

STUFF TO DO BEFORE I DIE

And beneath it, in April's handwriting:

aka andy's bucket list

The front page prominently featured, "SEE THE GRAND CANYON," which had been circled in both pencil and purple sharpie. Beside it was written, "SEE MOUNT RUSHMORE." He couldn't help it; he was now intrigued. Some of the items were wildly impossible and often illegal. Much to his disapproval, some such items were circled, or even boldly double circled.

Ben tore his eyes from the page. Andy sat not ten feet away, XBOX controller in hand, completely engrossed in his game.

"Hey, Andy—"

Andy did not look up from his game and replied in a perhaps irritated tone, "Man, I told you, if there's a question, just throw it out."

"I already found two unpaid bills…" Ben stopped himself, "Beside the point. What is this?" He waved the sheets of paper.

Andy glanced up this time and, upon setting eyes on the bucket list, paused his game without hesitation. His face lit up and he leaned forward in his seat. "Dude! My bucket list! I've been looking for that! Where was it?"

Ben's eyebrows furrowed to a crease as he indicated at the paper pile.

"Oh, yeah, right," with a chuckle and a nonchalant wave of the hand.

"Have you actually done everything on this?"

"No, of course not! Only what's circled."

"When exactly," Ben's eyes traversed the front page, seeking a good example, "did you become an action movie star?"

"Oh, y'know, a couple weeks ago when I ran through the sliding door and saved April from Jerry. Natalie recorded it if you wanna watch."

"April said one of the neighbor kids ran his bike through it."

Andy's eyes rounded. His mouth was tight as he spat, "Better go with that, then."

The glass had been fixed, and the whole issue was water under the bridge. There was genuine concern in Ben's voice as he continued, "Look, Andy, the point is, some of these are illegal, or could get you killed. Or both."

"So?"

"So maybe you should reconsider _escaping from prison_."

"C'mon, Ben. Surely there are wild, crazy, irrational," he put air quotes around "irrational," "things you want to do before you die?"

"Sure, but, some of these are so random. Crème brûlée with the president? Where did that come from?"

"I don't know. I'd get to meet the president _and_ eat something fancy. Crème brûlée." He pronounced it slowly, as if emphasizing the exotic name so it would sound fancier. After a brief pause to think, "That is a food, right?"

Ben's mind raced as Andy spoke. He had an idea, a way he could pull this one off. The question was, did he want to pull it off? With everything he already did on a daily basis for his often ungrateful roommates, did he want to expend additional effort on Andy's silly bucket list? The answer, however "irrational," was clear.

"Yes, that's a food. Are you accepting help with these?"

"Yeah!" A toothy grin lit his face, but suddenly turned serious. "Not the changing my cell phone plan thing, though, that's lame."

"Oh, I didn't see that one." Ben ruffled through the papers in a futile attempt to find it. "We can do that, too, though. If you want."

"Awesome! I'm gonna..." Andy indicated at the television screen, where his game was still paused.

Ben nodded slightly. "Go ahead." His mind spun as he occupied his hands with paper sorting.

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><p>Ben asked Andy and April to meet him at JJ's one evening nearly a week later without any further indication as to the occasion. The couple entered the diner, both sets of eyes glancing about the place for any sign of their companion. It was crowded, as usual this time of evening, with a flurry of customers happily chatting away and waitresses squeezing through the aisles, heavily laden with trays of hamburgers, french fries, and the occasional waffle.<p>

Ben and Leslie sat next to each other in a window booth about fifteen feet from the door, Leslie in the aisle seat and Ben nearest the window. They chatted pleasantly and openly, eyes ever alert to the door, hands slightly touching upon their table. Before them, four places were already made, complete with individual ramekins and large glasses of milk. Leslie's milk glass was already half empty, and the faintest gleam of a milk mustache glinted in the bright diner lights.

Upon seeing April and Andy, Leslie shot up like a rocket into the aisle, nearly knocking into a small child. She apologized quickly before restoring her attention and exclaiming, in her characteristic exuberant tonality, "Guys! Over here! Come on! Come see!" A few heads turned at the loud display, but most recognized Leslie and her antics and paid her no mind.

"Leslie! What are you doing here?" Andy inquired as he and April approached the booth.

Ben remained awkwardly seated in the booth, without room enough to stand to greet them. Before Leslie could explain, he cheerfully interjected, "Go ahead: sit down, you two."

So they did, Andy sliding in first to sit across from Ben. There were a few moments of silence, where Andy poked his spoon suspiciously at the hard, yellowish substance in the ramekin. Ben and Leslie watched, the corners of their mouths creasing as smiles spread around the table.

Andy finally broke the silence, "Whoa! What is this? Fancy pudding?"

"It's crème brûlée, brilliant," announced April in her usual matter-of-fact manner. Spoon in hand, she had already begun delving into the dish.

"Wow. I did not know JJ's was so high class," Andy said as he, too, broke into his dessert.

"Funny story," Ben began. He had obviously been yearning to explain the backstory of their current situation. "I told Leslie I needed to make crème brûlée for Andy's bucket list. I figured she would know how to make it—"

"I do," Leslie explained, waving her spoon and smacking softly as she swallowed her previous bite. "I know how to make anything with cream and sugar."

Ben continued, "But she assured me that JJ's has the best crème brûlée she's ever had, which is funny, because it's not on the menu."

Meanwhile, Andy's first spoonful had passed his lips, and his face was progressing through a sequence of eyebrow furrows, eyebrow raises, nods, and lip pursing.

Leslie, never the one to leave anything to question, attempted to elaborate upon Ben's explanation, "There's a long story behind that, actually. A couple years ago, I—"

"This is amazing!" Andy interrupted her upon, at last, reaching his verdict. "So creamy and vanilla-y. I love fancy food!" He paused and savored another mouthful before his face lit up with a sudden realization. "Wait, is this for my bucket list? I don't see the president. Is he late? Awe, man, do you think he went to a different Pawnee? I bet there are loads of Pawnees in the country. He probably got confused."

"Okay," Ben, who had yet to break into his crème brûlée, raised his hands to gesture, palms outward, "you're going to have to stretch your mind a bit for this one—"

Leslie beat him to the chase. "Andy, did you know that Ben is the president of an online Star Wars fan community?"

A faint snicker came from April's side of the table.

"No way! Really? That's awesome! I've never known a president before." Andy turned to his wife. "Does this count?"

She nodded in response, relatively vigorously by April standards. Her eyes met Ben's, and her lips curled upward in thanks.

"Well, Mr. President," Andy extended an arm across the table to Ben, "it is an honor to be eating crème brûlée with you." They shook hands.

Ben finally cracked into his crème brûlée. There was much friendly conversation, and they remained in their seats, chatting loudly, long after they had cleaned their plates and sipped the last of their milk.

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><p>Ben and Leslie stood beside each other in the parking lot, waving to April and Andy as they drove away. Leslie's arm was linked through Ben's, and she leaned into him as they moseyed to their own vehicle.<p>

"Thanks again, Leslie," Ben muttered softly into the crown of hair near his chin.

"No problem." Her face lifted, and, to Ben's delight, a bright Leslie smile appeared, "I love that you wanted to do something nice for your roommate."

"Well, they can be pains in the ass sometimes, but they're good people."

They reached Leslie's car. She clicked to unlock the door, and Ben slid into the passenger seat as Leslie strapped into the driver's side. A thoughtful Leslie paused whilst a smirk slowly crept along her face. She looked to Ben, a devilish glint in her eye, "Do you think you could get me a copy of that bucket list?"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Leslie turned the key in the ignition as they exchanged knowing smiles.


End file.
